Feeding



C. R. HERMAN FEEDING AGITATOR Dec. 22, 1925- Original Filed May 2l, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG Dec. 22,1925. 1,566,746

C. R. HERMAN FEEDING AGITATOR Original Filed May 2l, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 22, 1925.

irnnnnm' AGITATOR. f

l Afpiieation ined )farai-,1924, lserial' Nd. 714,855. `Renewed mwmher12;.1325.y ,l

T 0 zzZZ 'whom t may oon-cem;

Be it known that/I, CARL gheny and State of. Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful :Improve-,.- ments in Feeding Agitators, ofrwhich' the1 following is a specification.

This invention1- relates to: limprovements .in feeding agitators. f

An im o rtant object of this invention is to'. rovi e means for agitating material, pre-terably of. granular form,` positioned Within a receptacle for causingy the material to freely flow through a discharge orifice in. said receptacle.4

A further. object of the invention is to provide a device which is particularly adapt?l ed for,` agitating material inthe neighbor hood of the walls of a yreceptacle whereby all arching of the material `will 4be prevented. i V w A still further object ofthe' invention is to provide agitatinglelementsof new and improved construction which are/especially adapted for maintainingparti'cles cfa massy Figure l2 isa top plan view of i'gitator` illustrated in Fig. l,

Figure 3 is .a fragmentary elevational View of a. portion ofthe receptacle Withinwhicli this form ofA agitatorv operates and further illustrates a portionof the connec-` tion between the agitator and the. source lofy power. employed ior driving the same,"4v 1 .Figure et is a transverse sectional view of Fig. 3,1 vthe drive connection being shownin 'top plam y igure 5 mentary ortion of aparticular type of article emp oyed for forming the portions of theagitator which operate directly upon the. Vmaterial to be influenced by the same, y

l citizengof the United States ofAJnerica, ref siding atV Grafton, in .the countyiof Alle VFigure,l 6 is a longitudinal verticaly sec.- tional view of a modified, form .of agitator embodying thisginvention, l

4Figure 7, isa, transverse sectional view taken uponlines VII-VII of Fig. ,6,

Figure 8 is a longitudinal y vertical,.sec-lv tional yview of; a still further modification f embodying this inventioinand Y. L

Figure 9 is a transverse sectional. v View of,

the agitator illustrated inF ig. 8.

Referring to ,the accompanying drawings and particularlyto Figsll to 4. inclusive,

the numeral 5designates the body portion 'of a receptacle ywhich in this particular. in stance is in the form` of av hopper of conical .shape adapted to receivey granular material which is placed therein through its'larger,

open end 6.y Any suitablev formV of means` may beemployed for supportingthi's body portion 5 and such means, in this showing, consists of beams 7 to which the'larger lend f of the `body portionk 5 is attachedr ,in such a manner that the said body portion willdependfrom the beams.v VThe lower, smaller endf8 of thisfbody portion is preferably provided .with r a laterally extending Harige 9 which mayentirely encircle the., sam'eor it may be formed, as best illustratedin Figs. 3 and 4, with. a laterally projecting, U-shaped extension 9a. v f

This flange 9 is intended to' be. provided' with suitable means, such as the .swinging bolts l() and 4wing nut-s 11 for clamping a removable nozzle 12 to 4thefend Softhe body portion 5 of the hopper.v This noz'zle is intended to .represent `a removable unit which is provided with suitable ,valves forV controlling the discharge Vof materialrv from the hopper, but; due to the fact that. such a discharge control does notfforin a portion of this invention,- the `valve or valves are. notv shown.

In Figs. 3. of axially alinedbearings Y13 and lll'lwhich. are carried respe ctively by the Walloftlie end 8 of the hopperand the. extremeouter portion of the U-shaped eXtension9..:Ro

i Y. tatahly carried by these bearings laridrliI is an enlarged view of. a frag.l

is aishaft 15 which'proj ects'into the interior and 4:,thereare shown a pair.l

CARL n. HEnMANgoFcnArrc-iir; PENNSYLVANIA', AssrG'Non] 'ro- JAMES r. cook, rolf'v of the bodyV portion 5,'at its inner end, and v terminates slightly short of. the axis of the hopper;4 Suitably secured to this inner end 1 5a of the shaft l5 across link 16 tothe outer ends of which are pivotally connected the lower arcuate ends 17 of rods 18 which extend-[upwardly 1 through 'the ybody portion 5 of the hopper and project-outwardly of the upper-open end 6 of the same. :For the f purpose of guiding these projecting ends of the rods 18, suitablebearings 19 are secured Vto the beams 7, thev bearings 19 being constructed to permit longitudinal move-ment' ofthe rods 18 therethrough;

Suitably,V rigidly connected tothe portion of the shaft extending between the bearings 13S and' 14-is an armE 2O which` is con- `n`ected`, rbyany suitable means, to 'a power plant or mechanismwhich will cause partial rotationfof the shaft 15,1 alternately' in opposite directions `forthe purposeof creating what mightbe more properlyl 'termed afro'ck" shaft 15 and for causing the ,cross a in Figrl.v

link l to oscillate the'rods 18- 'in opposite directions. LI Y' In Figs. 1,- 2 and 4, the rods 18 are illus- Vtratedfas, having secured thereto 'material Y agitating elements 21 which'are of identical form'Y andeachconsists. of a( semi-conical screen'. *It is" to'be understood that eachl screen'may be strengthened at itsl marginal edges gor any other places, in any suitable manner lfor causing the same yto maintain the -*'(jlesire'd Iformation, as` best illustrated in Figs. and v2. It willbe noted' that the sinallerenfds of these semi-conic`al screens Y, 21project into thel nozzle 12 and terminate in close proximity, as at 21a, tothe discharge o "ri-ficeof this nozzle'.

fIn Figs'. 6 'and 7, thereY is showna modified forniv of `agitator ywhich includes the bodv ,t portion y22 of a` hopperwhich is preferably of conical shape and is'suitably connected i" portion 22.

to 'the'beams'23rat its upper end 24.' The lower end 25 of thishopper is vprovidedy with a suitable flange 2,6 by means of which a'nozzle',not shown, may be attached to the body Extending ldiarnetrically through the lowe'rlend: 25 of the hopper is a'bra'ce 27 which is'provided with Va suitable bearing `for rotatably 'supporting' the axially extending i shafti 28` which is journaled in proximity' to itsjupperend288L lin a crossv brace 29 that is suitably secured, a'spby thel bolts 30, to the Y beams 23. A suitable bevel gear 81k is keyed tothe extreme end of this 'shaftVv 28 and is in mesh with av second bevel gear 82 which is 3311er 'conveyinginotion tothe latter which motion 'may' be av continuousv `rotation in carried by a horizontally l.extending shaft 33. Suitable mean-s, asdesignated in generalby the' numeral' 34, isconnected to this shaft either direction or a partial rotation in op'- posite directions;` VSuitably mounted upon the portionl of the shaft 28 extending between' the elements 27and'29 is a conical sfcfreen- 35"which is of slightly less diameter Y than the diameter v'of the body' vkPort-'ion .22

of the hopper. It is to be understood that any suitable form of connection may be provided for mounting" this conical screen 35 upon the shaft 28, however, thepreferred form of-connection consists of the radial larms 36 which carry vtherings 37 that are positioned at opposite ends of the said screen and have the latter suitably attached therea. e e y vIt will be noted that the lower end of the Vshaft 28'depends below the-:lower end 25 of the hopper and has mounted thereupon radial arms 38 which carry a ring 89. This ringhas "securedf' thereto a relatively small, conically-shaped screen` 40 which will re-` side within the"nozzle,l-not shown, thatis .toi bev attached to thev body n portion 22105` any-l sutablerfmeans, SlCh' as that illustrated cause the'portion `ofthe wall of the samefpo- Y sitioned the greatest distance fromI the shaft 42 to always reside a shortdi'stance from the inner face of the wall ofthe hopper-41.` Inkk Fig. 9, this agitator screen isillustrated iny full linesin one 'position and in dotted lines in a second position,fthe dottedline position, after the `'shaft 42 representing thel agitator has beenrotated 180. j s Y Y In Fig. 5 there isillustrateda portion/of the type of article tol be used for forminglthe screens 21, 35' and 43 illustrated in the ion l variousother figures.y This article or screen I is intended to be of .the expanded metal type, that is, the type `of screeny formed by cutting spaced slits in asheet of metal 'and' expanding the metal to'form the openings 44 between the various strands 45. This type of screen has proved, by exp'erim'enato be verypractical in view of the fact that each strand 45 is of substantially rectangular'or square 'formation is cross-section and pro-1 vides at y,least four relatively sharp edges. These sharp edges provide excellent means for maintaining the -particles of agmassv of granular material in a disconnected state.y

The result obtained by these'various forms of'agitatorsl are vsubstantially"'identical fori they all provide means for -agitating 'ma` terial in the neighborhood of the vWalls ofa hopper' for theY purpose of 'preventing all arching ofinaterial within the latter; It is well known by those skilled inthe art'thatl material'first starts to arch in the vicinity of the walls of a hopper and this arching continues inwardly until ja complete-r wall isformed across the bore of the hopper Wheref upon the material will 'cease to flow. "This archingcannot occur if'the material is pre vented from clinging to the Walls of the hop-4 per and for this reason the three forms of agitators illustrated herein are believed to be extremely etlicient in" viewfof vthe fact that they operate directly upon the material in the neighborhoodwof the yWalls of the:

' and 4 oscillate in opposite directions While the conical screen 35, illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 may be operated for completely rotating in either direction or for partially rotating in opposite directions. The' shaft 42, illust-rated in Figs. 8 and 9, may be completely rotated in either direction or partially rotated in opposite directions, as described in connection with the sha-ft 28 in Figs. 6 and 7. It Will be clearly seen, by inspecting Fig. 9, that this eccentrically mounted screen 43 Will operate throughout a larger zone than will the concentrically mounted screen 35, illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. The zone of operation of the eccentrically mounted screen 43 Will be of annular shape in crossQsection and Will have a Width equal to the distance y between the Wall of the agitator shown in A lines.

It is now believed that the construction and operation of the various forms of inven` tion will be clearly understood and that the forms herewith shown and described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same, While various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described the invention, l claim l. In a device of the type described, the

combination With an imperforate conical hopper, of perforated agitating means Within said hopper for maintaining material in proximity to all the Wall surface of the latter in a state of unrest, and means for operating said agitating means.

2. In a device of the type described, the combination with an imperforate conical hopper, of agitating means Within said hopper limited in its operation to the materialr in proximity to all the Wall surface of the .hopper for preventing the arching of material within the latter, and means for operating said agitating means.

4.' In-ay devicelofthetype described, the i combinationfWi-th a conicalhopper having a discharge nozzleof conical shape, of perfo rated agitat'ing means Within 'said'ho-pper and nozzle. V conforming5 in*v cross-sectional shape with the-shape-of said hop-per# and noza zle-forpreventing the arching of material therewithin, and means for operatingfsaid agitating means.A y 'l 1- 5. In a device of the type described, the combination with an imperforate conical hopper, of hollovv agitating means extending longitudinally through said hopper for maintaining material in proximity to all of the inner Wall surface of the latter in a state of unrest, and means for operating said agitating means. f

6. In a device of the type described, the combination with an imperforate conical hopper, of an agitator conforming in crosssectional shape With the shape of said hopper positioned Within the latter, said agita-l tor comprising supporting means and a screen attached thereto, and means for operating saidvagitator. n

7. In a device of the type described, the combination with a hopper, of an agitator positioned Within said hopper, said agitator comprising supporting means and a screen formed of expanded metal attached thereto,

and means for operating said agitator.

8. In adevice of the type described, the combination with a hopper, of a perforated sectional agitator Within said hopper limited in its operation to the material in prox.- imity yto all, the Wall surface of the latter to maintain said material in a state of unrest, and means for operating said agitator.

9. In a device of the type described, the

Y combination with a conical hopper, vof a pair of semi-conical elements mounted Within said hopper in proximity to the inner face of the same, and means for agitating said elements.

l0. In a device of the type described, the combination With a conical hopper, of a pair of semi-conical elements formed of screening material mounted Within said hopper, and means for agitating said elements.

11. In a device of the type described, the combination ywith a conical hopper, of a pair of semi-conical elements formed of expanded metal screening mounted Within said hopper, and means for agitating said ele'- ments.

l2. In a device of theitype described, the

combination With a conical hopper, of a pair of semi-conical agitator screens mounted Within said hopper, and means for connecting and actuating said screens.

13. In a device of the type described, the combination with a conical hopper, of a pair of semi-conical agitator scneens mounted in saidv hopper, and means .for causing said screens to oscillate `1n opposlte. directlons.

combination with a hopper, of a plurality of 'perforated elements jmounted in said hoppe1, and meansior agitating said elements.

15. In vagdevice of the type describedthe combination with a hopper,of plurality'of' Y perforated semi-:conical elementslniounted in saidhopper, 'and means for' agitating said elements. v .Y

16. In a device ofthe type described, thecombinationwith a hoppemof a plurality of f. perforated `semiconical elements mounted in 14. In a device of the type described, the

saidhopper, and means for longitudinally.. 15 agitatng said elements. 4 j. e y

17. In a device ofthe type described, the combination Withpa, hopper, of a plurality of perforated elements ymounted in said hopper, and means for longitudinally.agitatingrsaid 20 elements .in opposite directions. ,y In testimony whereof I afX my signature.

" CARL-R. HERivIAN. .y 

